a brief glance skateboardmag 18

issue _18

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COVER: Photo_Davide Biondani_

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Ale Facci, pushing in the rain.

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ISSUE _18

CONTENTS FRAGMENTS

A spring sesh_IN THE RAIN

Three Years Later_Fabio Montagner a castle in the air_ TOKIO_JAPAN THE _ollie Places_INDIA

a glimpse of Oregon_ Dusted O_US teams in UK a brief glance

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Š 2013 Vans, Inc. Photo: Max Wanger

EDITOR and CONCEPT Davide Biondani.

(davide@abriefglance.com) ASSOCIATE EDITOR Guido Bendotti.

ASSISTANT EDITOR Andrew Zolin.

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Leo Sharp, Kévin Mètallier, Nils Svensson, DVL, Friedjof Fèje, Garric Ray,

Fabio Montagner, Marcello Guardigli,

Eric Antoine, Alan Maag, Sergio Minnici,

Kazuhiro Terauchi, Davide Biondani, Bertrand Trichet.

CONTRIBUTORS

Jonathan Levin, Jeroen Smeets, Francesco Paolo Chielli, Mauro Caruso, Jerome Campbell, Alvin Francescato,

Daniel Pannemann, Lorenzo Formenti, Ale Martoriati, Holger von Krosigk, Simone Bertozzi, Niall Neeson.

DESIGN

Fake Donkey Lab. www.abriefglance.com

GET ALL THE INFOS at: info@abriefglance.com

abrief glance skateboard mag is a bulletin published by fake donkey skateboard asd.

No part of this pubblication may be reproduced without the permission of the publisher.

All right reserved.

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Photo_Davide Biondani_

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www.abriefglance.com

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EDITORIAL _18

“Great things take time...extraordinary things take just an istant.�

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* happy third birthday abg

[we still love good news]

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RYAN SHECKLER / FRONT SIDE BLUNT SLIDE

T H E

GREY / YELLOW AVAILABLE NOW

ETNIES.COM

FRAGMENTS

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FRAG MENTS Nico Zecchini, Fs smith grind.

Photo_Davide Biondani.

Venezia.

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Pasquale Crispo, Kickflip in.

Photo_Davide Biondani.

Ancona.

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FRAG MENTS a brief glance

FRAGMENTS Elmehdi “Elmo” Contaki, Heelflip over the gap.

Photo_Davide Biondani.

Civitanova.

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FRAGMENTS

Brett Royden, Switch bs nose grind.

Photo_Marcello Guardigli.

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A spring sesh...

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IN THE RAIN Photography and words_Davide Biondani_

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I hate the rain. Rainy days put me in a bad mood. Whatever I have to do, if it rains, I’m not happy, and if I have to go out skating or shooting for the mag I get mad.

The last week has been long and definitely wet, and after 3 weeks of non-stop rain and more than 100 pages of a skateboard mag to fill I was trying to find some ideas for a photo shooting and I said to myself: “Is it raining? Fuck it let’s go skate in the rain.” Some ideas on how to work on the thing came out quickly, what I wasn’t so sure of was if I would have found someone foolish enough to follow me and my crazy idea. I started calling some friends, explaining what I had in mind and to my surprise I immediately had positive feedback and total willingness by all the guys. We met at the spot a few hours later and I couldn’t believe my eyes in seeing that there were at least ten skaters ready for the mission: from 16 years old boys to almost 40 years old dogs with kids at home. Everyone was smiling and happy to skate in the rain and no one worried about getting their board and socks wet, or falling into a puddle. We moved from spot to spot by car or pushing in the rain and there were moments of total madness when some of the younger guys pushed at full speed into a big fountain full of water. We skated some never been skated spots and this was one of the other amazing things about this crazy day, and no less absurd was that someone rode a bike for an hour in the pouring rain to be there, skated all day and cycled in the rain for another hour to return home. We skated some spots until it got dark. What an amazing day! One of the funniest and most memorable skate missions I have ever experienced. I will surely keep the board I skated that day.

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NICOLO’ NOVALI_ollie up to kickflip to fakie_ Nico was the one who had the most doubts about skating “in the rain”, but in the end he skated the most, falling into a puddle more than once. The funny thing is that nobody had ever actually skated this bank before even though we’ve known about it forever.

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A spring sesh...

IN THE RAIN

CRIS “VIGA” MANTOVANI_ollie off_ Viga lives outside of the city and doesn’t have a car. He rode his bike in the pouring rain for an hour to join us, skated, and cycled back home before it got dark. He was not worried at all about getting his shoes or board wet (even because the board was mine), the only thing that worried him was to not get his long black hair wet so he pretended to hold an umbrella to ollie over this green gap. Bullshit.

Cris is a genius.

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"Is it skate

FRANK MENESTRELLO_fs noseslide_ Twenty minutes after giving him a call, Frank was already at the spot ready to skate; “I just have to take the little girl to her grandma and I’m there” he told me on the phone…

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raining? Fuck it, let’s go in the rain.�

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RICKY COMINI_feeble grind_ Have you ever tried to grind a marble ledge when it’s wet? Basically it doesn’t grind! At least the one we skated that day. But Ricky knows what’s up, even in the rain.

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NICOLO’ NOVALI_tre flip_ Nico skates, films, paints, builds spots and he is the mind behind “Into Freedom” project, a skateboard video project that covers the local scene. With this tree flip he perfectly showed the spirit of the day.

A spring sesh...

IN THE RAIN

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IN THE RAIN

DAMIANO SIMIONATO_fs 180 switch 5-0_ At the end of the day the rain gave us a bit of a break, just long enough to allow Dami to land his trick at “The window”.

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Three years later

Fabio Montagner

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FABIO MONTAGNER HAD THE COVER AND THE INTERVIEW IN THE FIRST ISSUE OF

abg, THREE YEARS LATER WE HAVE THE PLEASURE AND THE HONOUR TO

PUBLISH AN ARTICLE DEDICATED TO HIM. DURING THIS TIME MONTY STAR-

TED SHOOTING PHOTOS, SKATING BOWLS, AND SUPPORTING AND PUSHING THE SKATEBOARDERS OF THE NEW GENERATION. MONTY STILL (AND ALWAYS WILL ) RULES_db.

Photography_Davide Biondani_ Interview_Guido Bendotti_

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G’day Fabio, I ‘ve never asked, how long have you been skating?

I started skating when I was 14 years old, so 11 years now.

What’s your first memory related to skateboarding?

There are many… from learning how to ollie over some leaves on the street in front of my house to being reported by the police after having destroyed a sidewalk to build a rail ha ha ha.

Skateboarding “saved your life” or could you be a better person without it?

I was thinking about this a few days ago… like in The Simpson cartoon series, I’d like “the Spirit of Skateboarding” to arrive and show me what I would be like without skating. I have no idea what I would be like.

Surely my life would have been much sadder, probably would have been the typical life of the people from north eastern Italy: “live only to work”. I have no regrets about my choice to follow my dreams and keep on skating… it gave me the chance to travel, meet great people who share the same interests as I do and make a living out of what I love to do.

You had an interview in the first issue of a brief glance, it has been three years since then, what has happened during these three years? What has changed in your life?

Look, I still can nosegrind a rail so I guess not much has changed during these three years ha ha ha. Surely I have more clear ideas about what I would like to do in the future; I have some projects in mind as well as I’d like to turn my passion for photography into a job.

Do you still have fun skating in contests?

I still enjoy going to contests, but even if it is not nice to say, everybody goes to contests for the money. After all you have to earn it in some way.

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Trust me, I have never met a person with so many "happy endings" of booze and party to tell like Monty and if you ever get the chance of seeing the photos he has on his mobile you'll come across many embarrassing shots that I hope he will never publish. I'm not saying Fabio doesn't have his head on his shoulders, indeed, he is a very determined person with pretty clear ideas. More than once I saw him skating not in perfect physical conditions, but he never gave up.

He is a very willing, not only in skateboarding, but in anything he might care.

(Alvin Francescato).

FS NOSEGRIND UP_ New spot, old trick. Sometimes it’s just too easy for him. He used to be a good skater. Pop this shit out!

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BS SMITH GRIND_ Pool coping, vert section, total d.i.y. park?

Gotta show some style. Bs smith? No problem! And carve the fuck out of it at full speed.

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CAB FS NOSEGRIND BS IN_ Hey Monty, what the fuck are you doin’?!!? You’re a rail chomper not an old tranny dinosaur. a brief glance

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FIRST TRY FS NOSEGRIND OVERCROOKS_ What’s that?

Another crossover nose grind??? Monty is definitely retiring from skateboarding. C’mon dough bomb that shit in switch…

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You spent most of your life skating, if you stop for a minute, after all these years, what is your opinion on skateboarding in general, and also on a personal level?

When I started traveling at 16 years old the only thing that interested me was skating, every day all day. Growing up I started learning about everything that revolves around skateboarding. I’ve always been in contact with people deeply involved in the skateboarding biz: organizers of events, distributors, brand owners, so I had the opportunity to understand the dynamics and the problems behind the skateboarding business. I currently occasionally work in a skate shop, the Flame Shop. I’d like to work on some projects I have in mind… maybe my own brand.. you never know.

From a pure sporting point of view I’d like skateboarding to be officially recognized as a sport; skateboarders could have more benefits in general and many would take it more seriously than they do now. Very few people truly believe in skateboarding. An official recognition of the sport would help in this regard in my opinion. Skaters should work hard to progress, taking the level of the pros as a reference point, and not concentrate on being the best among their friends at the park. I personally think the “world of skateboarding” represents one of the most creative areas of modern society: skateboarding really opens up your mind, and as a skateboarder you really live differently than the rest of the people.

How do you feel to switch from “the skater to push” to “the expert skateboarder who pushes the new kids”? Until a few years ago you jumped in the back seat of the car to go skate some spots, nowadays you drive your car picking up the new kid, you film them, shoot photos of them skating…

I’ve always enjoyed skating new spots or different parks and since I got my driver’s license I move around even more and bring around the kids from the skatepark in my town with me. The thing that pisses me off and saddens me is that they have a great potential but they don’t really believe in what they do, I’d like for them to believe in their skating more. They could have the chance to get some sponsors and travel… after all, all they would need to do is… go skating!

Alvin Francescato is in the right mindset, he always calls me to go skate or shoot some new tricks he has learnt. If all the kids had the same motivation the level would grow a lot!

Getting a perfect shot of a trick and making the trick look as it should is in itself a trick. Personally, getting a perfect

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photo gives me the same feeling as landing the trick. I have seen you more and more involved in photography lately… when did you start to get interested in shooting photos?

I have always been fascinated by photography and being around for years with many photographers I became interested more and more… I would love to stay in the skate scene in the future taking pictures. And yes, I totally agree with you, getting a good shot with the skater in the right position and making the spot look good gives you the same feeling as landing a trick. Just as skaters watch their footy, you look at your photos and if you get a good one you get motivated to shoot more and more. I love it.

You grew up skating rails, but in recent years I have seen you skating bowls a lot, how did you start skating transitions and does it give you the same satisfaction as blasting some madness on a 12 stair rail?

I started skating transitions when I hurt both my ankles at the same time and I have discovered that I love to skate bowls. I’d like to start skating vert too! Anyways I still prefer street skating… the thrill of landing a trick on a big rail is still priceless.

I honestly think you are one of the most consistent and technically talented skateboarders I have ever known, you are also one of the funniest guys to go on tour with; one thing I have always wondered is: have you ever been interested in skating outside of Italy?

I’d like to represent my sponsors, Strange Skateboards and Emerica in Europe, and I think I will never leave them for all that they did for me… I regret not having gone away from Italy before, even on my own.

If you could fulfill a dream what would it be?

To travel all my life. No doubt.

What would you like to do when you grow up?

I’d like to get involved in one way or another with the skateboard scene. Working as a photographer would be cool. I’ll tell you over the next few years ha ha ha.

You are an amateur hipster: bicycle, film camera around your neck, mexican-style mustaches… when are you going to declare your homosexuality?

Ha ha ha… do not touch my mustache, sooner or later it will grow. It needs time too.

NOLLIE CROOKS_ Nollie crooks? Where’s the kickflip in? It looks an early two thousand trick…. You’re old school bro!

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BS NOSEPICK POP IN_ This time he didn’t sweat on the trick; he looks clean and his tee doesn’t seems dirty. Maybe he was just warming up. a brief glance

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“The thing that pisses me off and saddens me is that they have a great potential but they don’t really believe in what they do, I’d like for them to believe in their skating more. Very few people truly believe in skateboarding.”

Three years later

Fabio Montagner

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OLLIE OFF THE BUMP TO FS SMITH GRIND_ If you are a washed up skater, you’ve to pull out some ideas to impress the photographer… so find the worst spot, with the roughest flat, a small small ledge to grind and a ridiculous bump, than hold your breath while grinding ‘cause there’s no space for you body between the ledge and the net… and land it in a few tries . Monty cheat on us. He doesn’t know how to skate and now we all know. a brief glance

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DOWNHILL CROOKS DOWNHILL_ Looking at this shot I was trying to imagine what the old man thought seeing this fully black dressed guy arriving like a bullet, grinding the ledge and disappearing at the speed of light at the end of the hill‌. a brief glance

a castle in the air TOKIO_JAPAN.

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Photography and words_ Kazuhiro Terauchi_ Skateboarder_Tomoharu Miyazato_

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R ‘n R slide_

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ONE DAY MY FRIEND TOMOHARU MIYAZATO TOLD ME: “ I KNOW THE COOLEST SECRET SPOT NOT FAR FROM TOKYO, SECURITY IS EASY”, SO WE WENT THERE MANY TIMES WITH HIM. THIS SPOT IS ON THE TOP OF THE HILL AND THE MOST DESIRABLE FEATURES OF THE PLACE ARE THE FUNNY BANKS AND THE BEAUTIFUL VIEW YOU CAN ENJOY FROM UP THERE… IT IS JUST LIKE “A CASTLE IN THE AIR”.

BEING ON THE TOP OF THE HILL THE PLACE IS ALWAYS BLOWN BY A STRONG WIND AND YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL TO NOT FALL DOWN WHILE SKATING IT… WE TRIED TO SKATE THE CASTLE WHILE THE WIND STOPPED AND TOMOHARU COULD LAND SOME TRICKS.

fs ollie_

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no comply tailslide_

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a castle in the air air_ TOKIO_JAPAN.

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boneless over_

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THE

ollie_

Words Daniel Pannemann_

Photography_Friedjof Feje_

The Ollie is my favourite trick.

Whenever I step on the board I start with it and I end with it. Its the

first trick I learned and probably physically the last trick I could perform, when I'll be old, bitter and rusty. I like to skate minimalistic when it

comes to tricks and I like to watch minimalistic trick selections, not all

the time but most of it. The reason I go out and skate is to have fun and be somehow productive as in make things happen. This can be find a

new spot, skate a new spot or make it skateable with an idea. This spot is

really old but pretty harsh to push on, you need to get most of your speed

before you take a turn and then maybe get one or two more pushes before you hit the bank. I like this spot a lot and I used to live in the town this

spot is in(Hannover Germany). My friend Friedjof was just playing with his camera while I was trying to kickflip it and asked me to do 1-2 more

ollies. On this very day I didn't got anything but the ollie.This will sound super cheesy but you see, when everything is gone, I can still count on a simple ollie, hopefully for the rest of my life.

Maybe that is a pie in the sky – Fine with me."

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PLACES_18

India

Photography_Sergio Minnici_

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India

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India

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PLACES_18

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GARRIC RAY IS A PHOTOGRAPHER

FROM PORTLAND, OREGON, WHO SHOOT PHOTOS FOR DIFFERENT US SKATE MAGS . WE HAD A LITTLE CHAT WITH

HIM ABOUT HIS PASSION FOR PHOTO-

GRAPHY, ABOUT SHOOTING SKATEBO-

ARDING IN THE STATES AND ABOUT THE SKATERS HE SHOOT WITH. ENJOY.

Photography _Garric Ray_ Interview_Guido Bendotti_Davide Biondani_

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a glimpse of Oregon_ a chat with photographer Garric Ray.

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You’re from the Northwest part of the USA, around Portland, Ore, right? How’s that place to skate, live and try to live with skateboard photography?

Well, it does rain a lot in the Pacific Northwest, but I swear with ‘global warming’ every year seems to get a little more dry and warmer then the last. In regards to the skating in Portland- I would say it one of the most skate-friendly cities I’ve ever seen. For the most part you rarely get kicked out of spots and there are a ton of skateparks all over Oregon as well. Although, some of the spots here are really rough and tough to skate, but they do look great on film and in photos. And over the past few years a lot of pro skateboarders seem to be finding the Northwest as their permanent home. With Nike and Adidas having their home bases near the Portland area, I’m sure over the next few years, more and more pro’s will move here.

Now you work with the best skateboard mags in the world, from Thrasher to the now “defunct” Skateboarder Magazine. Basically you were an avid skateboarder, from the early 90’s, when and why you choose to became a full time skate photographer? How did you start, and how you got the first photos published in the big mags?

To be honest, I picked up a skateboard because my neighbors all skated when I was a little kid and it seemed a lot more fun then playing basketball, which was what I was doing at the time. I think the fact that it’s just you and your board- that’s what really got me into skateboarding. Also, I got a job at local skate shop/ skate park when I was about 19 years old. I was always really into photography and then suddenly I starting shooting photos of my friends and then eventually because I worked at the only indoor skatepark in Portland, Ore, I started to shooting photos with local pros and suddenly my photos started getting used in magazine. Being that I read all the magazines, I noticed that the editors email address was in the mag, sometimes my friends would say the photo I shot looked really good and that I should send them in to a magazine. At that time I felt like I had nothing to lose, so I started sending out emails and after a few years, people started running my photos.

Also, I’d like to point out that Skateboarder Magazine actually is still in business. The only thing that has changed is that fact you can’t buy the magazine at your local bookstore.

The magazine will be free on their website and iTunes and they’re still printing a small number of copies every issue as well. You’ll just have to go to your local skate shop in you’re looking for the magazine.

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Here in Europe, a lot of people think about USA as the golden mecca of skateboarding and of skateboarding business, but surely it’s not so easy to make a living out of skateboarding as a professional skateboarder, photographer or video maker….even in the US… Anyone that picks up a camera to shoot photos or film a trick of their friends does it because they love it, not for the money. Although, I know that a select few people can and do make a good living from filming and shooting photos of skateboarding. But for myself personally I just love to go skate and shoot photos of my friends, I plan on doing this for as long as I can, although I do worry that magazines won’t always be around to showcase people’s work though.

Nowadays we see thousand of skateboard photos everywhere…and approaching skateboarding photography (and photography in general) is way easier compared to 10/15 years ago…. you still going to be hit by a skateboard photo? Does it happens very often? What should have a skateboard photo to hit you? Do you have a skateboard photographer whose works you especially like?

Yeah, I think I started shooting photos of my friends because of photographers like Brian Gaberman, Jon Humphries, Oliver Barton, Mike O’Meally, Joe Brook and others. I would always pick up magazines when I was a kid and wonder how you could shoot such an interesting photo of someone skating- if it wasn’t for the above photographers that I’ve mentioned, I probably wouldn’t be shooting photos of skateboarding today.

You’ve had a lot work with Skateboarder mag over the years and now it’s over. This is sad, I love that mag!!! What’s the future of my favorite Skateboarder Magazine.

As I said earlier, Skateboarder is still alive and kicking, I just think those guys are the first to go the digital route.

And as much as I hate to say it, print media is dying or at the very best really slowing down. For whatever reason people simply don’t buy magazines like they use too, so we’ll be seeing other magazine follow in the footsteps of Skateboarder within the next couple years, I bet. Although, I really wish that wasn’t the case.

Are you into other kind of photography?

I love everything about photography all aspects of it- landscapes, portraits, photojournalism, you name it. Unfortunately, being that there is only 24 hours in the day, I’m not able to do a whole lot outside of skateboarding at the moment, but I would like to pursue other outlets of photography in the future.

When was last time you thought “I can’t believe I shot this”? I’ve take a look around your portfolio, a lot of your photos are taken around Portland, or Seattle, with guys like Gravette and Apello. How is working as a skate photographer there?

Well, being that I live in Portland, Ore, I would say there is a lot less competition with other photographers being that I don’t live in California. Also, another nice aspect of that is there isn’t as much as a ABD factor here with spots. I think the spots in the Pacific Northwest look a lot more interesting then spots in southern California, but that’s just me speaking for myself. But on the other hand, skate photographers that live in California have a lot more Pro’s to work with then myself, so I would say they probably have more of an upper hand. In regards to photos that I can’t believe I personally shot, a couple come to mind. I shot a photo of Matt Beach skating a rock that was a natural quarter-pipe on the Oregon coast and some how he was able to blast the the shit out a lien air on the rock. Also, I was really lucky and I was able to shoot a frontside flip of Silas Baxter-Neil at a sewage plant in Oregon. The spot was a huge bust and if we were to get caught- we would at least gotten a huge ticket or even arrested. But somehow that photo ended up being the cover of Skateboarder Magazine and I still trip out on that whole situation.

How the current state of skateboarding and skateboarding “business” in the USA in your opinion?

I think that depends on who you talk to. Some people make a really good living from riding a skateboard or having a job behind the scenes of a company, or being a team manager, etc. But at the same time you have a ton of people just getting by from whatever small company they ride for and their working a part-time job as a cook at their local restaurant. I do think that fewer and fewer people are making a decent living from skateboarding for a number of reasons, but then again a lot of people are struggling at the moment, probably has a lot to do with the whole economy being in the shitter at the moment.

It seems everybody is too good these days: every day we can check videos or magazines and we will find the new “perfect kid” that skate like a pro… and than he disappear. What does it take to stuck in the skateboarding world?

I’ve wondered that same thing myself a number of times.

To be honest, I think it’s a combination of luck, knowing the right people and being at the right place at the right time. But on the same hand regardless of how good you are at skating you need to be easy to get along with as well.

Because if you’re really weird and annoying it doesn’t matter how many tricks you can do- no one will want to go on a two week trip with you if you’re a kook.

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DAVID GRAVETTE_switch fs board slide_

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a glimpse of Oregon_

JAKE GASCOYNE_switch feeble grind_

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JOSH ANDERSON_wet wallie to manny into the steep bank_ a brief glance

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JORDAN SANCHEZ_wallie_

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Who is crazier? Gravette or Appelo? They look like they don’t care about anything. They have the “go for it” attitude….

I would say Devin Appelo is a lot crazier to skate with then Gravette. Devin simply doesn’t give a shit about anything.

If he sees a skate spot regardless of where it’s at, he’s going to skate it. He’ll skate the roof of a mansion while the homeowner is at home and not think twice about it. Devin’s almost got me arrested a number of times over the last few years- simply because of the spot choices that he goes for.

For a while there he was even thinking of skating people gravestones at cemeteries (because they’re good marble ledges). Luckily, I was able to talk him out of that one. But don’t get me wrong though, watching Gravette skate in person is nuts, I’ve seen him land 6 or 7 gnarly tricks in a row on a 15+ rail on many occasions. He’s just a little more sensible about who sort of spot that he’ll skate.

It look that there’s tons of money on skateboarding, everybody wear skate shoes or skate clothes, but companies are cutting their teams, and magazines are closing.. how is this possible?

If I were to guess, I would say they’re a lot more pro’s and amateur now then there were 10-15 years ago? Also, there weren’t even half the amount of companies within skateboarding back then compared to now. Also, being that Nike, Adidas and Converse have taken over the skate footwear market- anyone that is riding for a skater owned company isn’t able to make that much money anymore (compared to the big brand riders), because most people are buying the big corporate brands. But again, I’m probably the wrong person to ask, I’m sure the economy isn’t helping anyone right now. But something does tell me were going to see a lot more skater-owned companies going out of business in the next couple years.

You have been skating since the 90’s , so you know what the word “underground” means for skateboarding. What do you think about the current state of skateboarding, with skateboarding on TV at every hour, robot skaters, and everybody and his sister knowing what a 360 flip is?

Yeah, when I started skating it wasn’t cool at all, I trip out all the time on how far the sport has grown. I remember my parents though I would turn into a drug addict because I was always out with my friends skating. I started skating in 95 or 96, so skating was pretty far from being cool at the time, especially me being in junior high- all the jocks loved to give me shit.

I’m not going to lie and say it’s not a little weird that I can turn on the TV and see Ray Barbee in a hair dye commercial, but at the same time I say good for Ray for being able to cash in and make a little money for himself and his family, because who in their right mind would pass up that job?. For me though, the only thing I hope to not see with skateboarding is the sport entering into The Olympics. I know it’s a heated issue, but I think The Olympics needs skateboarding a lot more then we need them. But regardless of what I think, I can see it happing within the next 10 years. Although, I wonder how many people can pass the UA to be allowed to compete.

What’s your opinion on European skateboarding? Are we still too influenced by American pros, or do you think that sometimes we can have our identity?

I think the European skate scene is great! I love checking out Sidewalk, Monster, Kingpin Magazine and anything else I can get my hands on. Hell, most the photos are all shot on film as well, which is really rare these days. And I’ve always thought the spots in Europe look amazing, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous.

So. When do you came here to skate?

I’m guessing you mean heading over to Europe? I was in Paris last summer (I actually got married to my wife there last September). But I’ve never been lucky enough to go on a skate trip overseas yet, but I really hope I’m able too one day. I really like Europe quite a bit. It’s a lot different over there compared to living in the States.

a glimpse of Oregon_ TYSON REYNOLDS_switch fs shove_ a brief glance

ART NOW!

DAVIN APPELO_ollie_

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ERIK BILLUPS_bs noseblunt fakie manny bs out_ a brief glance

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a glimpse of Oregon_ ANDY ADAMS_stale fish_

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Dusted_Off US teams in UK _

Photography and words_ Leo Sharp_

GIRL/CHOCOLATE_ These tours both happened separately in the mid 00s but are both laid out together here. The Girl tour was

dubbed ‘Girl meets Oi’ with posters printed as such for all the in store signings. Jereme Rogers aka “Sperm” was still on Girl at that point and absolutely smashed it on this tour. The switch pop shove-it down the Dynamic

Earth triple set in Edinburgh was only one of about 10 tricks he reeled off in quick succession. Not to mention BA’s kickflip over the ledge which was and still is no joke! Jereme’s solo night out in London wearing $10,000

worth of diamond encrusted Girl jewellery was definitely an eye opener. A lot of the footage from this tour was

included in the Lakai Fully Flared video. Mark Johnson also blew a few minds on the trip. His fakie ollie to fakie manny on the School of African Studies gap to manual pad was a personal favourite of mine. Mike Carroll, Rick

Howard and Brandon Biebel all skated amazing too. So good to watch in the flesh.The Chocolate tour happened a couple of years later but was no less fun to shoot. Scott Johnson, Devine Calloway, Anthony Pappalardo, Justin

Eldridge, Chris Roberts and Kenny Anderson were all amazing humans on and off their skateboards. Highlights included Paps bs flip fakie 5-0 on the now defunct bank to ledge behind Southwark tube station.

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RICK HOWARD_ bs kickflip.

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ANTHONY PAPPALARDO_ bs kickflip fakie 5-0.

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MIKE CARROL_ bs tailslide.

BRIAN ANDERSON_ kickflip over.

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PETER ELDRIDGE_ blunt slide.

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JEREME ROGERS_ switch pop shove it.

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GIRL/CHOCOLATE_

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ELEMENT_

Another of the mid 00s deluge of American tours included a

visit from the heavy hitting Element skateboards ranks. Amongst

others I remember Brent Atchley and Colt Cannon tearing many UK spots a new one. Both able to dominate any terrain, despite their apparent disciplines.

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BRENT ATCHLEY_ fs melon.

David Stenstrรถm / fs blunt_Stehag. a brief glance

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COLT CANNON_ ollie.

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ALMOST_ Lewis Marnell, Torey Pudwill, Chris Haslam, Cooper Wilt and Greg Lutzka made up the Almost roster for this tour. Haslam knackered his ankle on the first day so couldn’t skate, but everyone else took care of business.

I think this was the first occasion I got to witness Torey’s ridiculous techness in the flesh. Such delights as kickflip crooks on the barely grindable and skate stopped ‘little Lloyds’ ledges in Bristol took the actual piss!

Lutzka too did pretty much everything first try. Fakie fs varial heels down

big sets of stairs? Kickflip front boards down 10 stair rails to warm up? No problem. I think it was also the first time I met Lewis Marnell (RIP) - an inspirational dude. Always happy and would skate even if his legs didn’t want him too. The nollie bs heel sequence was executed perfectly. The

nollie bigspin he did next he wasn’t so keen on as by his own admission he ‘stood up like a new born calf ’ on the roll away.

LEWIS MARNELL_ bs nollie heel flip. a brief glance

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FLIP_

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LUAN OLIVEIRA_ tre flip.

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US teams in UK _

There were a couple of UK Flip tours during the last decade. The first with

pretty much the entire OG team of Tom Penny, Geoff Rowley, Arto Saari, Ali Boulala, Shane Cross et al.

I remember turning up to the team hotel in Newcastle on the second day to find Geoff asleep face down on the floor, clothed entirely in white and

covered in his own blood. Apparently all of the above had been involved in a small altercation with some Geordie locals ultimately ending in punches being thrown. It didn’t stop mr Rowley shredding all the next day though, still wearing the same blood splattered gear. The second tour a few years

later featured a slightly different team including new riders Luan de Olivera, Curren Caples, Louis Lopez and David Gonzales.

Gonzales took down a few gnarly UK NBDs while the rest got UK demo spectators psyched on the refreshed Flip line up.

DAVID GONZALES_ boardslide.

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CURREN CAPLES_ fs ollie.

WILLOW _ varial heel flip. a brief glance

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DAVID GONZALES_ drop in to ollie over. a brief glance

ETNIES_

Sean Malto, Devine Calloway, Ryan Sheckler, Davis Torgerson and Willow to mention

but a few of the ridiculous line up for this 2009 tour. Highlights trick wise were Malto’s nollie fs feeble on the ‘tech 10’ rail in Leeds and his fs nosegrind pop out on the clapham junction housing estate banks to bar.

RYAN SHECKLER_ heel flip over.

SEAN MALTO_ fs nosegrind overcrooks.

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issue _18